of you.”
Vautier, 39, has climbed mountains worldwide since childhood, when his father strapped a backpack on him at age 5. The mountaineer plans to continue his goal of summiting some of the globe’s largest peaks with a possible trip to the Himalayas, among other climbing hot spots.
Though Vautier is now a seasoned climber, he encourages even the most inexperienced to get out into the hills and give the sport a try.
“It’s like running; you put on a pair of running shoes, and you can run anywhere,” Vautier said. “Mountaineering’s kind of the next step to that. It’s accessible to anyone within reason.”
Vautier insists that occasional breaks from the humdrum of cell phones, e-mail and the nine-to-five grind are important in remaining productive, energized and happy.
The Daily Press sat down with the wiry adventurer at a local coffee shop to discuss his adventures.
How’d the idea of climbing Mount McKinley come about?
“It came about when a friend of mine was supposed to go on the trip, but at the last minute because of work commitments he decided he was too busy so I had about four weeks to prepare... I went with a group called Rainier Mountain Guides based out of Seattle. When it started off there were 12 of us on the trip, and a couple of the guys got sick a few days into it, one of them because of the altitude, and had to be taken down, which is not uncommon. A lot of people get sick on the mountain.”
How’d you prepare for the climb? “A lot of local hiking around the Santa Monica Mountains. I just strapped on a big backpack with the gear I knew I’d be wearing. I was training with a 70-or 80-pound backpack. I was able to use the local mountains a lot for my training. The best way to train is to strap on a heavy pack and put in the hours.”
How many hours a day did you train? “Obviously I didn’t have all day, but I tried to get out a couple hours a day. I only had three or four weeks to prepare for this; it wasn’t a lot of time. But I think two things that really helped me were that I have climbed a lot of mountains over the years and I have spent some time in altitude.”
Talk about your climbing experience. “I’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, the Matterhorn in Switzerland, the Swiss Alps. I’ve mountaineered New Zealand, South America, done a lot of local climbing in California: the Sierras, San Bernardino Mountains. I was an adventure guide for UCLA for many years, and we led trips as far as Hawaii and the black canyons in Arizona.”
How did Mount McKinley compare to other mountains?
“It’s big and cold. We spent about 18 days on the mountain, which is the typical round trip. We had a couple storm days where we couldn’t move, we had to stay and camp. The way you climb the mountain is you take your time to acclimatize, which is really important so you don’t get altitude sickness. We would carry gear up to a certain level, dig into the snow and store it, then come back down to our camp and spend the night. So we basically climbed the mountain twice. You go up and back up and back up and back. It got cold. It went down to minus 20, minus 30 degrees. We had winds gusting up to 40-plus knots. We had some pretty intense weather.”
What does frost nip feel like? “It’s when your skin’s exposed to the wind and cold. It just freezes down and turns white. You’ve got to watch out for the wind-chill factor. The cold temperature combined with the strong winds gets pretty intense. We had some white-out conditions.”
How’d it feel to summit? “The summit day, we couldn’t see a thing. We had beautiful weather two-thirds of the trip. And then summit day, it started off with good weather, then the weather came in and totally clouded over. But it’s such an exhilarating feeling because that’s your goal no matter what anyone says your goal is to reach the top — but at 20,000 feet, you know your body’s breaking down. It’s hard on your body. There’s a lot less oxygen up there. It’s not a natural place to be for a human.”
Describe your fellow climbers. “Sharing a tent with someone, you’re in really close proximity. You’re in each others’ space, you have to respect each others’ space. You’re literally living on top of each other. That’s one way you get really close. There’s a lot a lot of down time — there’s a lot of talking that goes on, so you just naturally ask a lot of questions, share stories.”
Talk about what it was like to struggle together as a group of 12.
“You see people vulnerable, and that’s an attractive thing. You see basic human nature. Climbing a mountain is a great leveler. There’s no status. You’re all even, you all have to carry your own weight. There’s a mutual respect that happens really quickly. It’s very different from everyday life.”
You said your guides warned that you would all be tested. How were you tested?
“I had a couple of days where I was struggling. There was one day in particular I was at the end of a rope team. We spent every day together and one of the most important things about mountaineering is you’ve got to find a steady pace, a rhythm. One particular day the rope team ahead of me was testing me. The pace was all varied and being at the end of the rope, it makes it that much harder. So I got up to 17,000 feet and was all out of rhythm. Literally you take 10 steps, and you have to stop and breathe. It’s pretty intense, but for the most part what helped me was my experience.”
What draws you to mountain climbing? “I’m passionate about the outdoors because of the obvious beauty of nature and the scale. We were 20 miles from the nearest town, and you feel isolated from civilization, but at the same time you’re just in awe of this beauty around us. It’s incredible watching an avalanche coming down a mountain; the power is phenomenal. And there’s a humility about it. If you don’t watch out, Mother Nature will kick your butt.”
You recently got married. How’d your wife feel about this?
“She had mixed feelings. She was very supportive. She knew this was what I was passionate about, but it’s hard being away. We’re a fairly newly married couple, and I was away from her about three weeks. You miss each other.”
Do the Santa Monica Mountains even compare to the other mountains you’ve climbed?
“They all are unique in some way, but the Santa Monica Mountains I love.
You’ve got stuff that’s unique to this area in terms of high deserts. You’ve got the plants, the smells and the terrain. When it’s the end of winter, especially this year with so many rains, I loved all the waterfalls we had. You’ve got the beauty and the convenience.”
How would someone who’s had no experience with climbing go about it?
“The great thing about climbing is it’s really doable. It’s basically putting one foot ahead of the next. It’s basically walking with some weight on. It’s really easy to build up. You can’t climb any mountain you want, but a lot of mountains become accessible very quickly with a little bit of training. It’s just a matter of getting out there and doing it.”
Talk about the day-to-day struggle. “Mentally there are moments when you have doubts. You wonder if you’re going to make the summit. You wonder if you’re going to make it through that day. It’s just a natural part of the process.”
What’s it like being away from the bustle of the city?
“I missed sushi. I kept fantasizing about sushi. That was the first meal my wife and I had off the mountain. But it’s amazing how quickly you get into it. It’s beautiful out there. That’s why people keep doing it. We wouldn’t keep doing it if it wasn’t fun and inspiring. That’s why people keep going back to the mountains.”
Did you miss the city life? “You think you’re going to miss it, but once you’re up there it all becomes less important. It gets really simplified. That’s another beautiful thing about being in the mountains — simplification. We get so caught up in everyday lives. Things get complicated by virtue of work, friends, relationships, family. You’ve got a lot of things to balance so you’re stripping those away when you get into the mountains.”
How do you find the time? “You’ve got to make the time. It’s not going to come to you. I think it’s so important for everyone to get away regularly. I don’t think Americans do it enough. They generally work too hard. Most people only get two weeks vacation a year. I think it’s important to take regularly scheduled breaks to recharge. The benefits far outweigh the costs. You increase your productivity, your well being. You have to.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 8, 2005. Read the original PDF.